Wang: Beijing wants SCO to be more cohesive, effective and influential

China looks forward to working with other members to achieve three goals at the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization: making the SCO more cohesive, more effective and more influential, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization was born in China and the Qingdao Summit will be the first one after the SCO admitted new members. The nation welcomes the SCO back to China and expects it to embark on a new journey in Qingdao, said Wang at a press conference for the first session of the 13th National People's Congress.

China aims to make the SCO more cohesive. The Shanghai spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit and equal-footed consultation encapsulates the founding principle of the organization. China will work with other members to uphold this spirit to enhance trust and solidarity and build a more close-knit SCO community of a shared future, he noted.

Wang said the country also aims to make the SCO more effective. "The SCO is driven by the result-oriented, efficient and mutually beneficial cooperation."

China will work with other members to promote its development including developing a five-year outline for the implementation of the treaty on long-term good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation, concluding or ratifying a number of resolutions or documents concerning security, economic, environmental and cultural cooperation, and advancing Belt and Road projects in SCO member states, the minister said.

By making the SCO more influential, the organization has the duty to maintain peace and stability in our region and beyond, he said, adding that China will work with other members to help the SCO meet international expectations and "take a clearer stand" on major international and regional issues, and play a more active role in regional cooperation and global economic governance.

China will make the Qingdao Summit a new milestone in the history of the SCO and push this new type of regional organization into a new era, Wang said.